Con Art
by Denburrito
Summary: John decides to meet new people through a speed dating service, despite the misgivings of his sister. If her advice proves true and strangers aren't to be trusted, how will he manage falling for one of the worst? (John/Dave)(slight Jade/Nep)
1. Chapter 1

Pacing nervously around his bedroom, John feels his heart beating a million miles per hour in his chest. Questions were running through his mind quicker than he could comprehend half of them.

"_What am I doing?"_

"_Is this really worth it?"_

"_What if I make a fool out of myself?"_

"_What am I going to tell dad?"_

He shook his head, at that last one. _"Am I going to tell dad?" _it soon became. He decided to stop thinking about it. He had been ready to go for at least 20 minutes now, but she session wouldn't start for another 30. He grabbed his jacket fussed over his appearance in the mirror one more time. He'd spent ages trying to get the look right. He didn't want to look underdressed, but it was hard to not look overdressed as well, considering that most of his clothes were gifts from his dad. Rich kid issues. He smoothed down the front of his shirt one more time and stepped confidently out of his bedroom. _"I'll just stop by that nice café nearby for a while before I get there."_ He decided. It might help calm his nerves a little.

The house was relatively quiet apart from the din his dad was making in the kitchen.

"I'm going out tonight, okay, dad?" He called, getting his keys out of his pocket and swinging open the front door. He used the remote on his key chain to unlock his sleek, black car and hopped inside. His nerves were starting to get the better of him, but he refused to back out now. He slid his key into the ignition and started the engine_, _slowly backing out of his driveway. He turned his car around as the driveway got broader, and he continued down the lengthy road. Once he reached the tall iron gates at the front of his family's property, he punched in the pass code. The gates opened jerkily, and as soon as they were wide enough for his car to fit through, John drove forward.

He arrived at his favourite 24 hour café after a short drive into town and parked his car out front. Jacket slung over his forearm, he walked hastily up to the entrance, sweeping a few locks of dark brown hair out of his face. Bells chimed happily as he opened the door, and it made him smile a little. A young waitress came and escorted him to his seat.

Once seated by one of the side windows, a lovely secluded table hidden from the rest of the sizable café by a few decorative potplants and orange modern art sculptures. He ordered a hot chocolate, and the young waitress scuttled off to attend to his order. He sat there for a while, just taking in the atmosphere before he remembered his situation. Fidgeting slightly with a packet of sugar in the bowl in the centre of the table, John wondered what he was going to say. How did one impress people he'd never met before, in such a short time? And then there was the stuff Jade had told him. She was the only person he'd been able to tell about his plans, and she was extremely unsure about it. She had warned him about 'Stranger Danger' and about how untrustworthy people can be. He sighed and pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind, deciding he would do well not to worry. Not long after, his ht chocolate arrived, and he accepted it with a small smile and 'thanks', taking the warm mug between his hands, sipping it slowly. He checked the time, and it was 6:40pm. He still had 20 minutes before the session started. He continued to take his time drinking his beverage, keeping his mind off of his misgivings, and just thinking about how nice the café looked. No wonder he liked this place so much.

Once he'd finished drinking, he collected his jacket and left, thanking the young waitress who served him, and paying the minute cost of the beverage. He nodded politely and headed for the door. Once outside, he slid his jacket on. It was really starting to get chilly out, and he was never one who liked the cold. He hurriedly hopped back into his car and made his way to the public hall/restaurant that was hosting the event. He located a parking space in the carpark behind the venue and found his way inside. He caught the elevator up to the 12th floor, and stepped out, surprised to be instantly greeted by a cheerful and curvatious lady with a flowy pink shirt and black skinny jeans on.

"Welcome to 3 Minutes In Heaven, your local speed-dating service! My name's Feferi." She announced happily, gesturing for John to come through. He nodded shyly and replied accordingly. "Please come in and sit down. You're a few minutes early, so if you'd like you can get a drink from the bar or take a seat in the lounge while we wait for our places to fill up!" John followed both suggestions, getting a glass of water and sitting in the lounge to drink it.

A few more people appeared before 7:00, but it wasn't until 7:10 that all of the places filled up and Feferi announced the session's beginning.

"Okay, I want everybody to come up here one by one and write your names on this sheet so we can arrange your first line-ups!"

It took a few minutes for everybody to get organised, but Feferi then called out the first 10 names and assigned them a table number, before assigning one of the aforementioned tables to the remaining 10 participants. John was the second person to be assigned to table 8, and he ambled over to his seat nervously. He soon sat opposite a very confident looking larger lady who boasted dazzling blue eyes and lipstick to match. She threw John a bright smile as he sat down. "Hey, I'm Vriska." She stated before the buzzer went off to signal the start of the first 3 minutes. "John." He offered, holding his hand out for a handshake. She shook firmly, hand lingering a little longer than it probably should have. After he regained his hand, he tucked it into his jacket pocket. "Cute." Was all she said in response. "I can tell you don't do this often." John flushed a little and nodded. "Yeah, it's my first time." He replied. She chucked heartily at this. "I'll be nice, then. What do you like, John?" She queried, leaning her chin on one hand. He glanced around nervously for a moment, before a response even formulated.

"I really like movies, I guess." Her face lit up.

"Cooooooool! I like movies too sometimes." John eased up a little, having found a common interest.

"Wow! What's your favourite?" He smiles a little, not being able to keep a serious face with all of the confident energy radiating from the larger woman.

"I don't have a favourite as such, but I like horror movies, and pirate movies, and I loooooooove anything with Nicolas Cage in it." He rolls her eyes to emphasise 'love' and smiles even more. John's heart speeds up. This was nowhere near as hard as he thought it would be.

"Oh, man, I love Nic Cage movies too! My favourite is Con Air." He pushes his glasses a little further up his nose, and glances around. It looks like everyone was having a good time. Jade was wrong. These people all look really friendly.


	2. Chapter 2

Pacing nervously around his bedroom, John feels his heart beating a million miles per hour in his chest. Questions were running through his mind quicker than he could comprehend half of them.

"_What am I doing?"_

"_Is shit really worth it?"_

"_What if I make a fool out of myself?"_

"_What am I going to tell dad?"_

He shook his head, at that last one. _"Am I going to tell dad?" _it soon became. He decided to stop thinking about it. He had been ready to go for at least 20 minutes now, but she session wouldn't start for another 30. He grabbed his jacket fussed over his appearance in the mirror one more time. He'd spent ages trying to get the look right. He didn't want to look underdressed, but it was hard to not look overdressed as well, considering that most of his clothes were gifts from his dad. Rich kid issues. He smoothed down the front of his shirt one more time and stepped confidently out of his bedroom. _"I'll just stop by that nice café nearby for a while before I get there."_ He decided. It might help calm his nerves a little.

The house was relatively quiet apart from the din his dad was making in the kitchen.

"I'm going out tonight, okay, dad?" He called, getting his keys out of his pocket and swinging open the front door. He used the remote on his key chain to unlock his sleek, black car and hopped inside. His nerves were starting to get the better of him, but he refused to back out now. He slid his key into the ignition and started the engine_, _slowly backing out of his driveway. He turned his car around as the driveway got broader, and he continued down the lengthy road. Once he reached the tall iron gates at the front of his family's property, he punched in the pass code. The gates opened jerkily, and as soon as they were wide enough for his car to fit through, John drove forward.

He arrived at his favourite 24 hour café after a short drive into town and parked his car out front. Jacket slung over his forearm, he walked hastily up to the entrance, sweeping a few locks of dark brown hair out of his face. Bells chimed happily as he opened the door, and it made him smile a little. A young waitress came and escorted him to his seat.

Once seated by one of the side windows, a lovely secluded table hidden from the rest of the sizable café by a few decorative potplants and orange modern art sculptures. He ordered a hot chocolate, and the young waitress scuttled off to attend to his order. He sat there for a while, just taking in the atmosphere before he remembered his situation. Fidgeting slightly with a packet of sugar in the bowl in the centre of the table, John wondered what he was going to say. How did one impress people he'd never met before, in such a short time? And then there was the stuff Jade had told him. She was the only person he'd been able to tell about his plans, and she was extremely unsure about it. She had warned him about 'Stranger Danger' and about how untrustworthy people can be. He sighed and pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind, deciding he would do well not to worry. Not long after, his ht chocolate arrived, and he accepted it with a small smile and 'thanks', taking the warm mug between his hands, sipping it slowly. He checked the time, and it was 6:40pm. He still had 20 minutes before the session started. He continued to take his time drinking his beverage, keeping his mind off of his misgivings, and just thinking about how nice the café looked. No wonder he liked this place so much.

Once he'd finished drinking, he collected his jacket and left, thanking the young waitress who served him, and paying the minute cost of the beverage. He nodded politely and headed for the door. Once outside, he slid his jacket on. It was really starting to get chilly out, and he was never one who liked the cold. He hurriedly hopped back into his car and made his way to the public hall/restaurant that was hosting the event. He located a parking space in the carpark behind the venue and found his way inside. He caught the elevator up to the 12th floor, and stepped out, surprised to be instantly greeted by a cheerful and curvatious lady with a flowy pink shirt and black skinny jeans on.

"Welcome to 3 Minutes In Heaven, your local speed-dating service! My name's Feferi." She announced happily, gesturing for John to come through. He nodded shyly and replied accordingly. "Please come in and sit down. You're a few minutes early, so if you'd like you can get a drink from the bar or take a seat in the lounge while we wait for our places to fill up!" John followed both suggestions, getting a glass of water and sitting in the lounge to drink it.

A few more people appeared before 7:00, but it wasn't until 7:10 that all of the places filled up and Feferi announced the session's beginning.

"Okay, I want everybody to come up here one by one and write your names on this sheet so we can arrange your first line-ups!"

It took a few minutes for everybody to get organised, but Feferi then called out the first 10 names and assigned them a table number, before assigning one of the aforementioned tables to the remaining 10 participants. John was the second person to be assigned to table 8, and he ambled over to his seat nervously. He soon sat opposite a very confident looking larger lady who boasted dazzling blue eyes and lipstick to match. She threw John a bright smile as he sat down. "Hey, I'm Vriska." She stated before the buzzer went off to signal the start of the first 3 minutes. "John." He offered, holding his hand out for a handshake. She shook firmly, hand lingering a little longer than it probably should have. After he regained his hand, he tucked it into his jacket pocket. "Cute." Was all she said in response. "I can tell you don't do this often." John flushed a little and nodded. "Yeah, it's my first time." He replied. She chucked heartily at this. "I'll be nice, then. What do you like, John?" She queried, leaning her chin on one hand. He glanced around nervously for a moment, before a response even formulated.

"I really like movies, I guess." Her face lit up.

"Cooooooool! I like movies too sometimes." John eased up a little, having found a common interest.

"Wow! What's your favourite?" He smiles a little, not being able to keep a serious face with all of the confident energy radiating from the larger woman.

"I don't have a favourite as such, but I like horror movies, and pirate movies, and I loooooooove anything with Nicolas Cage in it." He rolls her eyes to emphasise 'love' and smiles even more. John's heart speeds up. This was nowhere near as hard as he thought it would be.

"Oh, man, I love Nic Cage movies too! My favourite is Con Air." He pushes his glasses a little further up his nose, and glances around. It looks like everyone was having a good time. Jade was wrong. These people all look really friendly.


	3. Chapter 3

Before he knew it, the first 3 minutes were up. The buzzer went, and Feferi instructed attendees 11 – 20 to rotate anticlockwise to the next table. John was now seated opposite a rather shy short girl with dark blonde hair adorned with 2 pink bows. She pulled her green jacket a little tighter around her and looked shyly at the floor.

"Um… Hi…" She managed, with a sheepish smile in John's direction.

"Hey." John replied awkwardly, not knowing how to deal with someone this shy.

"My name's John!" He smiled unashamedly, hoping that she might open up a little.

"I'm Nepeta!" She chimed, still hiding a little behind her fringe. "It's nice to meet you." Letting out a little sigh of relief, John folded his arms casually and attempted to start conversation.

"It's great to meet you too, Nepeta! Tell me about yourself?" She blushed a little, but answered his question eventually.

"Well… I'm 20 and I work in a pet store…" She trailed off as John stared at her in disbelief.

"You're 20? Wow! I'm only nineteen, and no offense or anything, but you kinda look like you're 14 or something." He laughed, amused expression fading when he caught the slightly annoyed look she was giving him. "Oh, uh.." He cleared his throat lightly, wildly trying to formulate another topic of conversation.

"Well, um, pet store, huh? You must like animals." He salvaged, feeling his face heat up considerably. She visibly calmed and nodded. She appeared to be pretending he hadn't told her she looked like jailbait, much to John's relief.

"Yeah! I really do. My favourites are the kitty-cats we have in store! I sometimes get sad when we sell them though… I get really attached to them!" She explained.

"Oh, boy, cats are pretty cool. I had one when I was a kid." He reflected on his pre-teen years, when his dad had bought him a cat. "Yeah, he was great, until dad accidentally ran him over…" He just about felt the tension descend on them after that comment. Nepeta just stared at him in shocked sadness for a while. John silently urged the buzzer to go off. There was no saving ithis/i first impression. They proceeded to battle through the remaining minute with the most awkward and forced smalltalk known to man.

The trip to the next table was a godsend to John after that terribly formed first encounter, and thankfully, the next 2 went without incident. He met a suave, but slightly aloof young man called Eridan who, while he was charming and talkative, was a bit f a snob. John didn't really mind talking with him, especially seeing as Eridan's abundant one-sided conversations left no room for error on John's part. After that, John encountered a super grumpy guy named Karkat. He was a little gruff, but it turned out that he liked movies too (Maybe John, Karkat and Vriska could have a movie night together or something?), but he hated Nic Cage. So while they did have some differences in opinions, there was no lack of interesting conversations there.

By the fourth rotation, John was feeling a little drained. He knew he still had so many people to go, but it was getting tiring having to re-introduce himself every time, and make smalltalk only to be moved again as soon as he started feeling comfortable talking to the last person. Speed dating was hard work. His fatigue went away as soon as he caught a glimpse of his next conversational partner. He was tall and insanely skinny with messy blonde hair, and was wearing ridiculously dark shades indoors /iat night/i. John sat down, never being able to tear his eyes away from the stranger. The blonde had a strange air of confidence and unbelievable nonchalance about him, and John had no clue how to handle it.

"Sup?" He greeted, arms slung over the back of his chair. At this point it kind of dawned on John. This guy was a massive poser.

"Um… Hi…" He managed, snapping out of his dazed state.

"The name's Dave, yourself?" John almost laughed at how this guy acted and spoke. It was totally unbelievable how this guy probably thought he was the coolest thing to exist ever, everyone else go home.

"I'm John." He greeted, holding a hand out for a handshake. Dave just kind of looked at it for a few seconds before shrugging and engaging the brunette in a firm handshake.

"Cool." Was all he said beyond that, and John could do nothing but giggle a little. The blonde was completely unperturbed by John's reaction and instead continued to make small talk.

"You come here often?" He asked.

"No. It's my first time." John shook his head, slowly calming himself. It was Dave's turn to laugh.

"I know. I'm a regular." He smiled knowingly. Once his smile faded a little, he raised one eyebrow quizzically, gesturing loosely with one hand.

"What's your last name, John. I think I've seen you somewhere before. You look familiar." He stated, idly stroking his chin in thought. John thought for a moment.

"Well, I guess I'm in the newspaper sometimes for the work I do in Dad's business." He stated, shrugging a little.

"Yeah, that'd be it." Dave clicked his fingers, as if in sudden realisation. "Egbert, right? Egbert Engineering?"

"Yeah." John confirmed with a small nod.

"Wow. That's a pretty big business, you must do pretty well with it. Your old man must be proud." Dave flashed a small impressed smile.

"Yeah… He tells me so all the time." John admitted, feeling his cheeks heat up a little more at the subtle praise. The buzzer sounds not seconds after, and Dave takes off his glasses as he stands up. He looks John straight in the eye before he walks of, red irises burning into John's blue ones.

"It was real nice meeting you, John." He states, initiating another handshake before the brunette walks off, holding his gaze all the while. That was certainly an encounter he won't soon forget. He still didn't know what to think about 'Dave'. In fact, he didn't learn much about the mysterious blonde during that encounter at all. All he knew is that he kind of hoped that it wouldn't be their last.


	4. Chapter 4

The next 6 encounters with random strangers passed in a blur of mostly boring conversation. No matter where the conversation ventured or how lovely his partners were, his mind kept wondering back to the tall stranger in the dark shades. The next 18 minutes went by in a flash, and a short break was announced in order for everyone to have a drink and get away from the tedious chit-chat for a few minutes while the organisers arranged the next line ups.

John had another glass of water while he sat at the bar, glancing every now and then at Dave, wondering what was up with the mysterious blonde. The tall stranger kept worming his way into John's train of thought even when he was pointedly thinking about something else.

The break was called to a close as Feferi announced the next line ups, which would be called as they go so everybody meets everybody. John was hardly thrilled at the prospect of meeting more people he didn't know. More than anything, he just wanted another 3 minutes to talk with Dave. Never mind being obsessive, he was just curious, that's all. Maybe he wanted to be friends with Dave? He just thought he was fun to talk with. Sighing defeated, John decided to stop trying to fool himself. He was undoubtedly at least a little attracted to the blonde stranger. And maybe a little curious.

Another 30 minutes passed, and John met the rest of the 10 people. He tried to seem interested, he really did, but by around 7 he was borderline falling asleep. He wouldn't have made it to 9, except 8 was an overenthusiastic redhead in a schoolgirl outfit who cut to the chase by muttering something in broken English and groping him under the table less than a minute in.

In one hand, he was grateful for the wakeup call, but on the other he was thoroughly disturbed.

Thank god the next 2 went back to being rather ordinary.

Time was up quicker than John could keep up with, and while it was nice to meet some of the people and he had a few phone numbers in his pocket, but as he stood from the last table, he searched the room for the tall man in the red shirt. He spotted those reflective lenses on the other side of the room shaking hands with a toned, swarthy man wearing a black wifebeater and faded blue jeans. Not moving, John continued to watch Dave interact, waving or nodding lightly with a smile to various other attendees until the blonde turned and fixed his gaze directly to John's. He had obviously noticed the brunette staring at him, and started crossing the room toward the other.

"Hey, John." He greeted with a sly smile, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

"Dave." John responded, getting a little sheepish after being caught ogling the taller male.

"Look, I know it's probably getting a little late, and that experience was probably tiring as hell, but how do you feel about grabbing a coffee or something?" He proposed, shrugging casually. Heart speeding up a little, John felt himself blush.

"Yeah, that sounds cool." He agreed. "Can we just walk somewhere close by? I think I need to stretch my legs a bit." Dave smiled warmly at the brunette. It wasn't the smug, 'I'm cool' smile he'd thrown all the other speed-daters, it was a genuine smile. John felt a little thrown off. He really didn't know what to make of this guy, but he did know that he really didn't mind his company. Even if he did turn out to be a total poser sometimes. They made their way toward the elevator, thanking and farewelling Feferi on their way. She smiled at them knowingly, and bid them goodnight as they got into the elevator together. The trip down to the ground floor felt like it lasted forever as John tried not to glance over at the taller male.

"Do you know any good places for coffee nearby?" He queried, giving himself an excuse to look in the blonde's direction. Dave just shrugged again, continuing to stare ahead. Or so John guessed. He couldn't tell with those obsidian lenses obscuring Dave's eyes.

"Yeah, I know a few okay places we could chill at." The elevator doors opened and he stepped out, turning back to wait for John to follow before they walked side-by-side out of the building.

It was a short walk down the street before the duo found a café they both agreed looked accommodating enough, and headed inside. They sat down at a lounge seat toward the left side of the room and flagged down a waiter. Dave ordered a regular coffee for himself, and John ordered a latte. He always preferred something sweeter than just coffee. The waiter took their order up to the barista, and as soon as he walked away, Dave removed his glasses and placed them on the table. John figured he may as well ask;

"How come you wear those shades, at night? And indoors? Isn't that breaking like, 3 separate rules of basic etiquette?" He wondered. Giving a light chuckle, Dave just shook his head.

"I wear them around people I don't know, don't trust, or don't know if I can trust." He explains. "And I figured I can definitely trust a nice kid like yourself." He smiled. John's eyes went wide and he felt his ears grow hot.

"Oh." Was all he could manage. "I guess I'm honoured."

"You should be!" Dave joked with a light laugh. The coolkid façade gone, he was just being Dave now, and John thought he was getting a better understanding of Mr.I'm-Cool-But-Actually-I'm-Just-A-Bit-Shy.

"Well, I think you need to tell me a little about yourself, Dave. You've learnt a heap more about me than I have about you!" John challenged. Dave inhaled deeply as if preparing for a really long story.

"Well, if you insist." He warned. "I come from a pretty big family." He began.

"We were all raised by my dad, cool guy. Pretty distanced, but he looked after us, so we didn't mind. I've got 2 older brothers, an older sister and a younger sister. We don't all get along at the best of times I guess. We had a huge fight when I was 16 and I moved out. My oldest brother was already on his own by then, so I moved in with him until I was finished school, then I moved out. I got a job in a game store, and that's about it."


	5. Chapter 5

John and Dave swapped stories and learnt things about each other over coffee for a good hour. Dave was hardly shy, and John can admit to laughing harder than he had in a long time. His original assessment of the Blonde had since been discarded. Yeah, Dave was a bit weird, but the act he put up in the speed dating session was so much different to the Dave he was seeing now. He hoped it was because he'd gotten the taller male to open up to him.

"Oh wow…" John laughed, shaking his head at the close of another of Dave's stories about his older sibling beating him up.

"Yeah. My bro was always pretty full on. But I can't say I didn't provoke him half the time." Dave smiled widely. Casually, Dave glanced at his watch and did a double take once the time registered in his mind.

"Wow, Egbert, it's getting pretty late. We should probably head off." He stated. Taking his phone out of his pocket, John saw that it was almost 9:00.

"Man, Dad's probably wondering where I am…" John felt a little bad, but his Dad hadn't tried to call him yet, so he probably wouldn't file a missing persons report for another 20 minutes. Texting his Dad quickly, John stood slowly from his seat and flagged down the waiter. Not giving Dave the chance to take out his wallet, John paid for both their drinks, earning him a scowl from the blonde.

"You're just gonna have to make it up to me next time." John winked.

"Next time, huh." Raising one eyebrow in question, Dave hooked his glasses over the front of his shirt. "I like the sound of inext time/i."

John slipped on his jacket again as he followed Dave out the front door. The blonde turned to him as he held the door open for him.

"I'll start by walking you to your car, if that's cool." He offered.

"That sounds nice." John waited for Dave to close the door behind them, waving goodbye to the older man behind the counter and leading John back toward the hall.

It was only 5 minutes walk back to the building, but John almost felt sad that he had to part ways with Dave. He'd had such a great time with the taller male, even though he was a little unsure of him at first. Once they reached his small black car, John offered to give Dave his number so they could organise their next date. He blushed a little at calling it a i'date'/i, but he didn't know what other word to use.

Dave pulled two phones out of his jacket pocket, stuffing a smaller older model back in his pocket while handing a larger smartphone to John. Saving his number into Dave's contacts, the shorter male gave the phone back. Upon withdrawing his hand, Dave caught it before it could retreat to the handle of his car door.

"First date rules." He states, pulling John a little closer to himself and placing a soft, tentative kiss to the brunette's lips. He lingers for a few seconds, pulling away slowly, opening his eyes to look into John's blue ones. He smiles at the other's shocked silence, and the obvious blush dusting his cheeks.

"Good night, Egbert." He farewells, taking a small step back.

"Uhh… G'night, Dave." John manages, tearing his gaze away from the ground to flash a sheepish grin at the blonde before opening his car door and getting inside. Shutting the door, he waves at Dave briefly, starting up the engine and taking off.

Making a conscious effort to keep his thoughts on the road, John makes his way back home. It's difficult to keep from thinking about different aspects of Dave that he'd taken particular notice of; anything from the feel of his lips or the scent of his subtle cologne or the way he took his glasses off slowly, revealing blood red irises. It was certainly difficult, but for fear of causing an accident in his distracted state, the brunette kept his eyes and mind on the road.

After the relatively short drive, John arrived home. He opened the tall iron gates, navigated the long driveway, parked his car and headed inside. He hoped that his Dad wouldn't ask any questions, but he should have guessed that was too much to ask for. He had been in the door no less than 30 seconds before his Dad appeared in the doorway.

"Where have you been for so long, John?" He queried, a hint of worry lacing his words.

"I just- went out with some friends, Dad. You told me I should get out more, so I arranged to meet up with some." His expression softened. Mr. Egbert was by no means gullible, but even if he did notice the vague lie, he decided he didn't care.

"Okay. Just be sure to let me know in advance if you think you're going to be out late, alright?" He offered. John sighed.

"Dad… I'm 19. You don't have to keep tabs on me like you used to. I'm big enough to take care of myself for the most part, don't you think?" Mr. Egbert looked a little guilty, averting his gaze from his son.

"I'm sorry, John… I just want you to be safe, okay?" John felt his cheeks heat up. His Dad cared a lot, and he felt really bad for not letting him in more, but he needed his space.

"Yeah, I know, Dad. I'll at least be sure to text you a little sooner next time I think I'm going to be out late. How does that sound?" He bargained, smiling weakly. Dad's face lights up, and John feels instantly better.

"That sounds great, son." He smiles fondly. "In any case, I'm off to bed. Goodnight." He turns and heads toward his bedroom.

"Night, Dad." John calls out, making his way up the stairs to his own bedroom. He flops down on his queen size bed, and wriggles out of his jacket. Before he tosses it away, he pulls his phone out of his pocket. He unlocks the touch screen, swiping down the notifications toolbar. A i'New Message'/i alert flashes up, and he taps it, opening the text message bank. It's from an unknown number, but the message reads: i'sup egbert. Just wanted to check what youre doin on friday?'/i

John feels his heart speed up a little as he reads it, and he reads it again to be sure. He hastily presses '/ireply/i' and types out a response.

'no, why?'

'i was just thinkin we could go to the movies or something.'

Biting down on his bottom lip to stop himself from shouting in excitement, John sends his last reply.

'yeah, sounds great!'

The reply is almost instantaneous.

'great. meet me at the theatre at 8.'

And with that, John wrestles his way out of the rest of his clothes, snuggles into his bed, and falls asleep.


End file.
